Scraper apparatus having multiple position bucket support



July 28, 1970 A. c. BLUEMEL'. I 3,521,711 I SCRAPER APPARATUS HAVING MULTIPLE POSITION BUCKET SUPPORT Filed Feb. 1, 1968 I5 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Andrew C. Blueme/ g flwmau ATTORNEYS.

SCRAPER APPARATUS HAVING MULTIPLE POSITION BUCKET SUPPORT.

Filed Feb. 1, 1968 July 28, 1970 A. c. BLUEMEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ml e T. Nm me u N B W e r d n A A TTQRNE Y5 United States Patent ()1 fice 3,521,711 Patented July 28, 1970 SCRAPER APPARATUS HAVING MULTIPLE POSITION BUCKET SUPPORT Andrew C. Bluemel, 5900 El Camino Drive, Englewood, Colo. 80110 Filed Feb. 1, 1968, Ser. No. 702,256 Int. Cl. E02f 3/60 US. Cl. 17226.5 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Scraper apparatus inclusive of left and right side harness arms and bucket supported from rearward portion of harness arms. Support for bucket formed on harness arms and bucket to position bucket at selected angle of blade inclination for different scraping operations such as digging and facing including cooperative hook and pin housing means on adjacent portions of bucket and harness arms with removable pin disposed at selected angles in each pin housing to engage hook to prevent spreading of arms transverse of bucket movement and means for holding bucket against forward and rearward movement at selected blade angle of inclination. Symmetrical bucket having similar opposing blade portions making it also suitable for use in inverted position.

This invention relates to scraper apparatus and more particularly to improved scraper apparatus suitable for earth excavation, earth surface facing and the like.

Scrapers of the type which are commonly referred to as slushing scrapers are used for digging and facing in mines and like excavations in construction work. A drag line is usually employed to move such scrapers in one direction for the digging and facing operations and then in an opposite direction to provide for repetitive passes over a particular surface area.

Such scrapers in general comprise a harness including lengthwise extending side arms and a forward nose member adapted for attachment to a drag line and a bucket supported on rearward portions of the arms extending transversely thereof which has a blade disposed in a depending manner for digging into and engaging material distributed over a surface area.

The harness and blade portions of such scrapers heretofore have been formed as an integral assembly and also have been formed of separable parts and attached to each other, as by bolting. Because of the weight and the abrasive nature of the material being handled, these scrapers and particularly the depending blade portions wear considerably during usage and the desirability of being able to quickly and efficiently remove and replace worn portions of such assembly is apparent.

The angle of inclination of the blade portion of the bucket will affect the amount of penetration or digging the blade is capable of performing. The greater the angle of inclination to the horizontal, the less digging is accomplished. This lesser digging effect is desirable, as, for example, in facing operations. Previously known scraper apparatus has performed only a single digging or scraping function with no adjustment as to the blade angle.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a rugged and durable scraper apparatus in which the bucket is easily and quickly supported on the harness arms and may be easily removed as required.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel scraper apparatus having bucket support portions formed on the bucket and harness arms in a manner so that the bucket can be inverted to provide for extended periods of usage.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide novel scraper apparatus having a bucket and harness combination in which the depending blade portion may be inclined at greater or lesser angles of inclination to provide both digging and facing operations with a single set of harness arms and a single bucket.

A further object of this invention is to provide novel scraper apparatus in which the bucket and harness structure may be easily formed as by casting.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of scraper apparatus embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation View of an assembled rearward portion of the left side arm as viewed from the inner side having a bucket supported in the digging angle position thereon;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation View of a fragment of the left side arm and bucket assembly shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the assembled rearward portions of the left side arm as viewed from the outside having the bucket mounted in the facing angle position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 2 showing the interfitting relationship between one side of the bucket and the associated side arm which holds the bucket against forward and rearward movement with the digging position of the bucket indicated in full lines and the facing position in dash lines;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 1 showing the pin being engaged by the hook-like portion to hold the bucket and arms in position; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the left side arm with the bucket and side arm being pivoted away from each other about the pin to illustrate the manner of assembly and disassembly of the bucket and the side arms.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is shown assembled scraper apparatus disposed in a generally horizontal position as it would appear if it were being pulled by a drag line (not shown). In general, this scraper apparatus comprises a harness including left and right side spaced arms 11 and 12 having at their forward ends a forward nose member 13 and having a removable bucket 14 supported from rearward portions between and transversely of the side arms 11 and 12 in a manner described more fully hereafter. The nose member 13 may be of various types and forms no part of the present invention and the particular form shown is included for purposes of illustrating a preferred nose member and describing a complete assembly of my scraper apparatus. The details of the nose member 13 are fully described in my copending application Ser. No. 461,295, filed June 4, 1965.

The left and right side arms 11 and 12 and also each side portion of the bucket 14 are of similar construction so that a description of one applies equally to both. Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, each side arm includes a generally hook-shaped depending rear portion 15 of substantial width. The support for the removable bucket in general includes a hook-like portion 16, a pin housing portion 17, a pin member 18 in the pin housing and plural bucket holding portions 19 and 21 preferably formed on adjacent portions or surfaces of the bucket 14 and harness arms 11 and 12 as by casting to interlock the bucket with the arms in a manner so as to prevent lateral spreading of the arms and hold the bucket against forward and rearward movement. As shown, in apreferred bucket support construction the hook-like portion 16 is formed on the bucket and the pin housing portion generally designated by numeral 17 is formed on the side arms. However, it

should be understood that these support portions may be in a reversed relationship on the bucket and harness within the spirit and scope of the invention such as is generally shown and described for a single position in my above referred to copending application.

The multiple positions of the bucket as herein referred to is a dual position arrangement which is suitable for both digging and facing operations. For the digging operation, the forward surface of the depending blade portion of the bucket is inclined to the horizontal at a lesser angle depicted as about 45 degrees and designated angle X in FIG. 2 and for the facing operation a greater angle depicted as about 62 degrees designated angle Y in FIG. 4.

Bucket 14 may be characterized as essentially concave in shaping having curved forward and rear surfaces. It is open along both sides and has flat sides in a normal or perpendicular relation to its forward and rear surfaces so as to abut in a flush relation against flat surfaces of the side arms hereafter described with portions of the side arms providing a partial closure for the central portion of the sides of the bucket.

More specifically, bucket 14 is shaped to include a pair of similar opposing forwardly inclined upper and lower blade sections 23 and 24 disposed in a symmetrical relation about its midpoint M. Each blade section includes a scraper edge or digger tooth 26 at the forward end, an inner surface having a fiat portion 27 and an arcuate portion 28. The arcuate portions of each blade merge at the midpoint M of the bucket to form a central cavity or hollow in which material elevated along the flat and arcuate portions is carried during the forward travel of the bucket. The flat surface portions 27 of the upper and lower blade sections 23 and 24 are preferably arranged at right angles to each other.

Each hook-like portion 16 of the bucket support is formed on a rear and outer side surface of each side portion of the bucket and is also symmetrical about the midpoint M of the bucket. The hook-like portion extends outwardly, rearwardly and inwardly from the associated side of the bucket and has a generally semi-circular inner surface 29 shaped to engage the periphery of the pin 18 in a slide fitting relationship so that the bucket and associated arm will pivot toward and away from each other about the pin and this pin engaging surface. The pin when engaging the hook-like portion 16 is always at 90 degrees with the symmetrical axis of the blade which with reference to FIG. 2 is a horizontal line passing through midpoint M of the blade.

With the symmetrical bucket shape and associated symmetrical hook-like bucket support portion 16 as above described, it is apparent that the bucket 14 may be inverted so that the lower blade section 23 becomes the upper blade section 24 and vice versa. In this manner, the same bucket may after considerable wear of its lower blade edge be inverted for extended periods of usage of a single bucket.

The side arms 11 and 12 are preferably of generally uniform section and the inner surfaces of the rear depending hook-like portions 15 are essentially flat so as to abut against the fiat sides of the bucket extending transversely thereof. The pin housing portion 17 is formed in the rear depending portion 15 of each arm rearwardly of the abutting surfaces between the bucket and side arms and each includes an upper downturned socket 31 and a lower upturned socket 32 projecting inwardly from the inner surface of the side arm and an aperture or recess 33 at the inner face of the arm between these sockets of a sufficient dimension to slidably receive the associated hook-like portion 16 of the adjoining bucket. Thus, with the pin 18 removed, the hook-like portion will slide freely through the recess 33 to the position shown in FIG. 3.

Each upper and lower socket portion is similar in shaping and is arranged to position the pin member 18 at two different angles of inclination herein referred to as the bucket digging position and the facing position. With 4 particular reference now to FIG. 6, each socket portion has a pair of annular and preferably arcuate forward and rearward inner portions 34 and 35 disposed in side by side relationship and merging in an intermediate inturned portion 36. The upper end of the pin member 18 is shown in position in FIG. 6 in the rearward surface portion 35 with the hook-like portion on the bucket being held by the pin against inward movement. The pin member when disposed in either position extends inwardly so that its outermost surface is essentially in the same plane as the inner surface of the side arm.

Each side arm includes a recessed portion 37 in its outer surface which is of sufiicient shape and width to permit slidable insertion of the pin member 18 into selected of the two inclined positions in the upper and lower sockets from the outer side of the arm as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 2 with the bucket in the digging position, the pin member is disposed in the rear surface portion of the upper socket and in the forward surface portion of the lower socket, whereas in FIG. 4 the reverse is true with the pin being in the forward surface portion of the upper socket and the rear surface portion of the lower socket.

Forward and rearward movement of the bucket in either the above referred to facing and digging positions is prevented by an arrangement above referred to generally as holding portions 19 and 21. In a preferred construction, each holding portion is a slot-type structure formed on the inner side surface of the side arm in which the flat sides of the bucket are disposed in a slide fitting relationship. More specifically in a preferred construction, there is provided a forward shoulder 41, an intermediate shoulder 42 and a rear shoulder 43 which are above and below the pin housing portion 17 and extend along forward and rearward surface portions of the bucket in the di ging position (FIG. 2) and the facing position (FIG. 4). At least one of the inside surfaces of these shoulders is tapered slightly as at 41a and 42a for ease of insertion and removal of the bucket from the side arms.

As noted in FIGS. 3 and 7, the rear surface of the blade may be provided with notched portions 44 above and below the hook-like portion 16 which are tapered to the arcuate contour of the outer surface of the upper and lower socket-like portions 31 and 32 to permit the blade to pivot about the pin into position in the holding portions 19 and 21.

This manner of support of the bucket on the harness permits the bucket to pivot toward and away fom either side arm as is depicted in FIG. 7 to a position in which the blade is substantially parallel with the side arm, in which case with the pin member inserted the end Of the hook-like portion will slide through the aperture in the side arm and the bucket may thus be completely removed from the side arm of the harness assembly. The nose member 13 permits release of the forward end of either arm for such pivotal movement. The pin 18 is removable from the arm through recess 37 and if the pin or associated housing surfaces become worn an oversize pin may be used.

In order to shift from one bucket angle setting to the other, one side arm is pivoted about the pin in a manner as shown in FIG. 7 and the pin is slid from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG 4 and then the arm is pivoted to the original position transverse or perpendicular to the side arms.

The term facing as used herein refers to the cleaning and removal of particulate material such as ore from against the end or back wall commonly referred to as the face of a mine tunnel or excavation. A comparison of the blade positions of FIG. 4 with FIG. 2 shows that in the arrangement of FIG. 4 the lower digging edge of the blade is positioned a greater distance below the associated supporting side arms and the upper portion of the blade inclines further forwardly to provide an essentially hood-like effect. Thus with the arrangement of FIG. 4

there is increased blade exposure, a lesser digging angle and the blade may be moved or dropped so as to permit the blade to work closer to the face.

While the present invention has been described with reference to particular structure, there is no intent to limit the spirit and scope of the present invention to such structure except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Scraper apparatus adapted for dragging movement over material surfaces in a material scraping and removal action comprising, in combination, a harness including spaced left and right side arms having a forward nose member adapted for fastening to a drag line, a bucket extending transversely of rearward portions of said harness arms and having a depending blade portion, and means on adjacent portions of said bucket and harness arms for detachably supporting the bucket on said harness to position the blade portion at one of two selected angles inclined to the horizontal, a hook-like member at a side surface of the blade portion, upper and lower socket portions bordering a slotted portion adjacent an end of each arm, the lower socket portion having two seats, a pin member insertable through the hook-like member when disposed in the slotted portion and arranged to seat in an upper socket and selectively in one of the two seats of the lower socket portion, a plurality of guide surfaces on each arm adjacent the slotted portion defining two guideways for the side edges of the bucket, the placement of the pin in one lower seat securing the bucket edges in one guideway, and placement in the other said seat securing the bucket edges in the second guideway with the scraping angle of the bucket different in each said placement.

2. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper and lower socket-like portions are formed on an inner surface of each arm with a recess between each socket-like portion shaped to admit one of said hooklike portions.

3. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the side portions of the bucket are flat and in a perpendicular relation to forward and rear surfaces of said bucket.

4. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein each said arm has an essentially fiat inner surface portion arranged for abutting adjacent said flat sides of the blade.

5. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said hook-like portions are formed at each side portion of the bucket and one of said socket portions is formed in a rearward depending portion of each harness arm.

6. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said upper and lower socket portions have forward and rear arcuate inne surface portions disposed in side by side relationship for engaging end portions of the pin in different positions lengthwise of the arm.

7. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein each said pin is disposed in the upper rearward socket portion and the lower forward socket portion to support the blade portion at an angle for a digging operation.

8. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said upper and lower socket portions are along an outer side and each arm has a recess in its outer face associated therewith for insertion, removal and change of position of said pin member.

9. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pin member is disposed in a pin housing in an up right position and said associated hook portion pivots about said pin to separate said blade from each said side arm.

10. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said guide surfaces include sets of shoulder portions on the inner face of said arm and disposed in spaced relation so as to receive a side of said bucket.

11. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bucket is supported at an angle of about 45 degrees in one position and at an angle of about 62 degrees in another position.

12. Scraper apparatus adapted for dragging movement over material surfaces in a material scraping and removal action comprising, in combination, a harness including spaced left and right side arms having a forward nose member adapted for fastening to a drag line, a bucket of symmetrical cross section extending transversely of rearward portions of said harness arms and having upper and lower blade portions, and means on adjacent portions of said bucket and harness arms for detachably supporting the bucket on said harness to position the lower blade portion at one of two selected angles inclined to the horizontal, a hook-like member at a side surface of the bladep ortion intermediate said blade portion, upper and lower socket portions bordering a slotted portion adjacent an end of each arm, the lower socket portion having two seats, a pin member insertable through the hooklike member when disposed in the slotted portion and arranged to seat in an upper socket and selectively in one of the two seats of the lower socket portion, a plurality of guide surfaces on each arm adjacent the slotted portion defining two guideways for the side edges of the bucket, the placement of the pin in one lower seat securing the bucket edges in one guideway, and placement in the other said seat securing the bucket edges in the second guideway with the scraping angle of the bucket different in each said placement, and said bucket selectively secured by said hook-like member and pin so as to disposed a selected blade portion as the lower blade portion.

13. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 12, wherein said bucket includes a pair of opposing forwardly inclined blade portions disposed in an essentially symmetrical relation about the midpoint of the blade.

14. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein each of said blade portions of the bucket includes an outer scraper edge and an inner surface having a fiat portion and an arcuate portion.

15. Scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said flat inner surfaces of each said blade portion are disposed at essentially right angles with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 229,788 7/1880 Winnek 172739 X 695,781 3/1'902 Bagley 17226.5 1,721,47'9 7/1929 Beaumont 172-265 2,147,193 2/1939 Durr 172-739 2,482,320 9/1949 Clemmer 172-265 2,743,540 5/1956 Whisler 172-26.5 2,763,074 9/1956 Whisler 17226.6 3,340,628 9/1967 Dobbie et a1. 172-265 3,392,465 7/1968 Bluernel 17226.6

FOREIGN PATENTS 167,449 4/ 1956 Australia.

ROBERT E. BAGWILL, Primary Examiner A. E. KOPECKI, Assistant Examiner 

